What Is the Cheapest Way to Watch TV?

[BobbyV]

We're on Direct right now and it is too expensive. They just dropped channel 4 and like every provider we have ever had, they don't drop the fee any as they cut channels. They don't even send us a monthly statement in the mail. We do automatic withdrawals to pay the bill. Has everybody gone to streaming? If so, what service still get your local news and the channels you like. We have Firesticks on two TVs for movies and some shows we like. I've heard of Hulu, Netflix, and some of the others but, don't know about their monthly fees.

If you can get locals on an antenna you could subscribe to Philo and stream their stuff pretty cheap. PlutoTV is a free streaming app as well.

 

[BobbyV]

Another vote for YouTube TV. Check it out.

We moved to YouTube TV 2-3 years ago after dropping DirecTV. Haven't missed it at all.

 

[BobbyV]

Here's another freebie that folks might like.

https://www.sports.tv/channels/epg-pursuit-up

 

[HoLeChit]

I'm in Ponca City, which is about equal distance from OKC, Tulsa, or Wichita. From what I've been told an antenna won't pick up very good here. I have a 35'-fold over antenna pole that I need to install so I can find out if this is true or not.

If you get a powerful enough Yagi antenna, mount it properly, and aim it properly, I bet you can reach whichever of those municipalities you wish. I have a monster one in my attic that I need to figure out how to remove one of these days.

https://hackaday.com/2017/05/24/on-point-the-yagi-antenna/

 

[beardking]

We killed off cable late last year and haven't really missed it. We paid for the Hulu package with live local channels and DVR, but they started bumping up the price like cable used to do and I switched it to the base package. Most of my TV watching is either on that, Netflix, YouTube or Kodi streaming. I was about to cancel Netflix, but ended up getting it for free through T-Mobile, so I decided to keep it. The only time that I kind of wish that we had local channels is when there is bad weather that we need to keep an eye on. For that, I just end up streaming Channel 9 on my phone while hunkered down in the storm shelter.

 

[JH47]

If you get a powerful enough Yagi antenna, mount it properly, and aim it properly, I bet you can reach whichever of those municipalities you wish. I have a monster one in my attic that I need to figure out how to remove one of these days.

https://hackaday.com/2017/05/24/on-point-the-yagi-antenna/

Tvfool.com
has maps that show what channels you can pick up at your address with different antenna types.

 

[OKCHunter]

We killed off cable late last year and haven't really missed it. We paid for the Hulu package with live local channels and DVR, but they started bumping up the price like cable used to do and I switched it to the base package. Most of my TV watching is either on that, Netflix, YouTube or Kodi streaming. I was about to cancel Netflix, but ended up getting it for free through T-Mobile, so I decided to keep it. The only time that I kind of wish that we had local channels is when there is bad weather that we need to keep an eye on. For that, I just end up streaming Channel 9 on my phone while hunkered down in the storm shelter.

I switched to streaming a few years ago. Even though I can get local channels through Hulu, I instead use a small digital antenna for over the air local channels. Have you tried an antenna for local channels?

 

[sedona]

I have hulu live tv and its $70.00 per month.I also have prime & netfllix.I spend more in 3 range visits than i do all month on unlimited internet with the hulu,netflix& prime.

 

[TerryMiller]

I'm in Ponca City, which is about equal distance from OKC, Tulsa, or Wichita. From what I've been told an antenna won't pick up very good here. I have a 35'-fold over antenna pole that I need to install so I can find out if this is true or not.

I don't even know if they still make them, but check to see if you can find an antenna rotator to attach the antenna pole to. When we lived up in the Panhandle on the farm, we had such equipment and could turn the antenna to pick up either Amarillo, Texas, Garden City, Kansas, or Lamar, Colorado stations. In the winter, we tended to watch the weather on the Lamar, CO stations, because winter storms tended to hit there first before moving on into the Panhandle.

Also, because of the one hour time difference between Colorado and the others, we could watch one show in the central time and then rotate the antenna to Colorado to get mountain time and watch another show that started at the same time as the one we watched on Central time.

 

[Catt57]

What Is the Cheapest Way to Watch TV?​

Turn it off.